While trying to free her hand from his grip, she jerked the steering of the car and veered violently off the road. She managed to control the steering, screeching the tyres to a stop within inches of a ditch at the side of the highway. When the car stopped, Addison unbuckled his seatbelt like a scalded cat and got out of the car, leaving the door ajar and sliding down into the trench. Luna was hunched over the steering wheel, terror and tears in her eyes. She turned to look out the door at Addison, who was bent over in the ditch, clutching his bleeding thigh. After gathering herself, she wiped the tears off her face, turned on the engine, backed up, and drove off with the passenger door still open. Addison looked on in shock as the tail lights of the Range Rover faded in the distance.
Left behind in the dark, on a dangerous road with no means of getting back home, Addison feared for his safety. As usual, the dead streetlights offered no illumination. Every now and then, a speeding car would lend their fleeting light for transient lucency. Otherwise, Addison was surrounded by darkness. He checked his watch for time. It was close to midnight. In light of the many crimes on that stretch of road, especially at that time of the night, he knew he had to find a safe place to hide before he became the victim of another crime.
Still shaken by the incident, he headed back in the direction they’d come from, hobbling his way along the road and wincing with every step. Luna had gotten him good on the last stab. He could feel the throb of his punctured leg all the way up in his chest.
After about thirty laborious minutes, he finally made it to the abandoned toll booths on the motorway and sheltered there for safety. From there, he called Kumi.
“K, I dey the motorway een top, eh. I beg, come pick me up.
“Ah? What you dey do for der?”
“I beg, you come pick me. We get some small accident for the road top.”
“Accident? You den Luna?”
“Yeah, sometin’ so.”
“You hurt?”
“Small, but I be okay.”
“Okay, you, I dey come.”
“Thanks. I go send you location.”
It took another hour for Kumi to get there from his place in Kasoa. Addison emerged from one of the abandoned stalls and hopped his way into the median where Kumi had parked. Addison was in his undershirt, his Versace shirt now wrapped around his bleeding thigh, its golden pattern soaked and stained red.
“Yohhh my guy. What happen you? Where Luna dey?” Kumi asked as Addison got into the car.
“Chale, the shoddy try kill me o.”
“Wey shoddy?”
“Lulu! Wey other shoddy dey?”
“Ah? I no dey barb? She try kill you? Sake of what?”
“Bro, I no know what dey wrong am. She den me start dey talk, wey she say she dey feel me. I tell am say, as my woman break my heart, I no make ready date now. Der norrr she bore! She start dey talk say after all she do give me, dis be how I dey pay am back? Bro, the shoddy VEX! I dey try calm am. Ho, she no mind me sef. I see norr she take pen chook my leg. As I dey defend my body, wey she lose control of the car.”
“Whaaat?!” Kumi asked in disbelief.
“Bro,” Addison continued, “E lef small she crash the car. The car stop norr wey I commot.”
“Ah? You run lef am?” Kumi asked.
“Like make I dey der?”
Kumi laughed.
“Me, den I dey want make she calm down before we go. I see norrr, she move the car lef me for there.”
Kumi could not hold back his laughter.
“Bro, dis no be joking matter. Make you no laugh. E be serious. The way I dey see am, she fit kill person. I never see human being so before.”
“So you call am?”
“Me? Call am? Why I for call am? I see say she try call me but I no pick up. I dey fear.”
“Anyway, e be good say you commot from the car inside, like by now you turn kebab,” Kumi teased. “Now where you want go? You want go your der or my der?”
“Make I go your der, eh, bro. Be like I lef my house key for Luna een car inside. Morrow, I go see what go hoppen.”
About 7:00 am the next day, Addison got home from Kumi’s place to find Lulu’s car parked at his gate. His heart missed a few necessary beats. Beads of cold sweat mounted on his forehead as he walked down the corridor to his apartment, quaking in his boots. At the door, he could hear sounds coming from his TV inside. Afraid but curious, he turned the knob and the door opened.
Lulu was sprawled across the sofa watching a comedy show, cackling without a care in the world. Maintaining a safe distance, Addison stood at the dining table and stared at her.
“Addison!” she cried when she realised he was in the room. “Where have you been? I’ve been everywhere looking for you.”
“How did you get inside my apartment?” Addison queried.
“You left your key in my car last night, remember? And I was worried about you because you didn’t answer any of my calls. I even went back to the motorway where you got out, but you weren’t there so I came here to wait for you.”
“Okay…?”
“And when you didn’t come home last night I was scared, I thought something might have happened to you on the motorway.”
Addison’s brows rose. “Yeah, Kumi came to get me. Wait. You came here last night?”
“Yes, but I didn’t stay. I came back this morning.”
“Hm.”
“Let me see your thigh. You know, you shouldn’t have said those mean things to me last night. It made me angry and when I’m angry I usually go on the warpath,” she said with a snicker.
Addison stepped back, and gave her a sidelong glance. She ignored him, bent over and examined his now bandaged thigh, pressing against the sides.
“Why, are you afraid of me now? I was just angry, that’s all. It was a long day and I’d just found out that my dad was cheating on my mom with one of his assistants and it upset me. So when you said what you said, it reminded me of that and I didn’t like it.” She stood up. “But I understand. If you don’t… can’t love me, it’s fine. Let’s forget about it and move on. In any case, I have a surprise for you. I spoke to Daddy about your business idea and he wants to meet you this afternoon for lunch.”
“He…wants to meet me?” Addison asked, unable to suppress his excitement.
“Yes, I told him you’re really good at managing businesses and he said he’d like to meet you. So hurry up and get changed, I don’t want us to be late.”
Addison hugged her and limped his way to the bathroom for a quick shower and change.
By half past noon, they were walking through the doors of La Lumière. Mr. Wilbert was seated right in the middle of the restaurant with another guest, a lady who looked vaguely familiar to Addison from behind. Luna skipped and hopped to her father and gave him a very warm hug in his seat. She turned to the lady seated opposite him and offered a fake smile. Then she turned to Addison who was a few steps behind her – limping – and introduced him.
“Dad, this is the gentleman I spoke with you about.”
“Oh, the bright young man you mentioned a while ago, Ad…add….
“Addison,” Luna filled in.
“Oh yes, Addison. Very nice you meet you, young man,” Mr. Wilberts said, extending his hand to shake Addison. Pointing to the lady who sat across from him, who was now in full view of Addison, Mr. Wilberts continued, “And Addison, meet Amerley, my Personal Assistant.”
To be continued…
